Archive for September, 2017

a-ha will be headlining the charity concert “BBC Children in Need Rocks the 80s” at Wembley Arena (aka The SSE Arena) in London on October 19th.

Some of the other acts taking part include Bananarama, Boy George, Europe, Erasure and Jason Donovan.

The decision to perform seems somewhat puzzling, as a-ha have always been careful to avoid 80s-themed nostalgia events. Obviously, they are in a totally different league when it comes to continued success and credibility than any of these acts. But the promotional opportunities in the UK must have been limited at the moment.

According to independent.ie“the concert will be broadcast on BBC1 in the run-up to the annual BBC Children In Need appeal”.

The new a-ha live album/concert film MTV Unplugged – Summer Solstice will apparently be released in eight different versions on October 6th, and can now be pre-ordered from various online stores.

Thankfully, all the 21 tracks performed at the Giske concerts in June will be included in all versions (except the 1CD Acoustic Hits edition). This is the first time an entire a-ha concert is released without songs missing. But if you want to buy the 3LP vinyl version, be aware that 11 of the 21 tracks have been edited for time.

Blu-ray and DVD bonus features are called “Friendship”, “Songs” and “Project”.

The version that many fans will be interested in getting is the Limited Edition Fanbox, which not only includes the 2CD, Blu-ray and DVD, but also a hardcover book about the recording process, a poster, wristband, badge and button. Currently only available from Germany, but at a good price. The book seems to be in English, based on the fanbox image on Amazon. Update: the book is confirmed by a-ha.com on Twitter to be in English.

Note: When ordering from amazon.de – if you don’t understand German, you can change the language to English at the bottom of the page.

a-ha interviewed by NRK after the press conference in Berlin, 12 September

a-ha presented their new live release MTV Unplugged – Summer Solstice at a press conference at the Nordic Embassies in Berlin on Tuesday, September 12th. A video of the whole event, hosted by Norwegian musician and author Jo Nesbø, is available on a-ha.com’s Facebook page.

After the press conference, the band did a number of interviews with German and Norwegian media, including TV2 and NRK. Another video report appeared on ARD’s Brisant.

On Wednesday, September 13th, a-ha did further promotion in Berlin. Twelve pictures from a DPA photocall can be seen at belgaimage.be.

The first single from MTV Unplugged – Summer Solstice is called “This is Our Home” and is now available on for purchase/streaming. Watch the video on YouTube.

The front cover features a previously unseen photo from the early 80s, taken by Viggo Bondi

Ørjan Nilsson’s upcoming book about Paul’s life and career, Tårer fra en stein, will be published in Norway on 6 October and can now be pre-ordered from bidra.no (signed by the author).

The 302-page book (written in Norwegian) is based on extensive interview sessions with Paul over the last two years, where he has opened up more than ever before. The book goes into great detail about every aspect of his songwriting and musicianship, making it the definitive account on Paul’s creative output over the years.

Nilsson has also interviewed a number of Paul’s family members, friends and colleagues, including his wife Lauren, his parents Olav and Gerd, his sister Tonje, Alan Tarney, Viggo Bondi and Hågen Rørmark.

The book also features a number of previously unseen photos from the early days and lyric sketches from Paul’s personal notebooks.

In connection with the book release, a ltd. ed. 7″ vinyl featuring cover versions of “Whalebone” by the author’s own band Willow and “Manhattan Skyline” by Kings of Convenience will be included for those who pre-order through bidra.no.

On 6 October there will be a book launch at Tronsmo book store in Oslo, where Ørjan Nilsson will talk about Tårer fra en stein with music journalist Audun Vinger.

The blind audition episodes of The Voice concluded this week, and now all four mentors have complete teams. Martin, Lene and Yosef bent the rules a little bit and ended up with 13 talents on their teams, while Morten has 12 talents on his.

One special moment occured in the episode this Friday, when Morten’s niece Ragnhild Harket was one of the contestants. Morten had no idea she would be there, but he didn’t press the button as he instantly recognized her voice and felt it wouldn’t be appropriate. But both Yosef and Lene pressed their buttons, and Ragnhild ended up on Yosef’s team.

To promote The Voice, Morten appeared together with the other mentors at a TV2 press launch in Oslo on 22 August. “Norway is brimming with talent, and I feel I have something to contribute”, he told VG.

He was also a guest on TV2’s talkshow Senkveld this Friday, 8 September, together with Martin and Lene. The full episode is available for TV2 Sumo subscribers. But there is also a short bonus clip from the interview on Senkveld’s Facebook page.

The Voice continues this coming Wednesday and Friday with the first battle rounds.

a-ha will present their new MTV Unplugged live album and concert film Summer Solstice at the Nordic Embassies in Berlin on Tuesday, September 12th [date corrected] according to Berliner Morgenpost.

The press launch will include an interview with the band members, moderated by the Norwegian musician and author Jo Nesbø.

a-ha have previously used the Nordic Embassies in Berlin to launch three albums; Lifelines in 2002, Foot of the Mountain in 2009 and Cast in Steel in 2015.

It’s safe to assume the band will do lots of other promotion as well, while in Germany.

Still no confirmed tracklist for the Summer Solstice album/video coming on October 6th, but four different formats are up for pre-order on CDON.eu; Blu-ray // Deluxe 2CD+Blu-ray // Deluxe 2CD+DVD // Triple vinyl.